My 40th!!

I turned 40 on November 1st. It was a fabulous birthday and I am now embracing my 40ness. My wonderful friends, with the help of my equally wonderful husband, surprised me with a trip to a spa. They picked me up in the morning and took me via a limo. We, Leslie, Christi, Jen, Amy and I, drank some champagne and celebrated. When we got to the spa we had our make-up done, our nails, toes, and hair. We even had fake eye lashes put on! It was so pampering. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in my life. Girlfriends are important to have and I don't mind saying that I have some of the best!

That night Christi and Jim hosted a big party for me. Plenty of gag gifts and Sangria later I celebrated my birthday. There was even poker tables set up to play Texas Hold'em. Christi and Jim put on a great party. Of course, my husband did a lot too. Thank you all. This year has been such a great memory. Hopefully I won't start loosing my memory too soon:)

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We are all healthy and happy. That is what counts the most. I am going to try and start living my life the most positive way I can... you are only young once so make the most of it. If it means jumping on a plane and going to Dublin for two days, than do it. Why?? Why not?? That is my motto now. Embrace life you only get one.

Dublin or Bust!

Yes, Christi and I went to Dublin, Ireland on Thanksgiving weekend. My very good friend Leslie is a flight attendant for Delta. She is always talking about how much she loves flying to Dublin. Well, since it was my 40th year, she invited me along. She asked me to see if Christi could come so I wouldn't be lonely while Les was working. It took Christi 1 second to agree to go... thank goodness she had her passport ready to go!

We had to fly stand-by.. that was the catch.

Christi and I headed out for Sky Harbor early Sat. morning. We got separated on the first flight.. Christi got on and I didn't. While she was on her way to Atlanta I sat for three hours in Phoenix reading my book. Thankfully Les was in Atlanta already so she met Christi. I made it on the next flight and met my friends in Atlanta. Well, we didn't have much time so we were off to the Dublin flight. Stand-by again. Well, it was worth it... we got to fly First Class to Dublin!!! We were like kids in candy store!!! And the best part was that Les got to be our flight attendant!! She stuffed us with food and wine. So much food that we couldn't even attempt to eat breakfast on the plane.. I don't think we ate until that night. Thanks Les!! Much to my husbands dismay, I am convinced that First Class is the only way to fly over seas!!!

What can I say... Dublin was amazing. We had the best time. It is now my favorite city!! The people were so friendly and the Guinness was so yummy! We didn't get much sleep but we saw a lot of Dublin. Did you know that the doors are all different colors?? It is so that the men can find there doors after a night at the pub. Isn't that funny?! It was so interesting meeting so many different people from all over the world. I have forgotten how much I really do enjoy traveling. Thankfully my wonderful husband is going to let me tag along on more trips with Les.

I recommend the Bangers and Mash and a pint when you go to Ireland. However you can't go wrong with Chunky Cod either.

Good Day Govnor!!

Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas

Ok, Ok, so I am the world's worst blogger! Has it really been since the end of September? Well, so much has happened since then, mainly I turned 40!! You would think that I would be a bit sad about that... well, this has turned out to be one of the best years ever. I will work backwards...

On Dec. 15th Christi and I went to Burbank to be on the Ellen Show. It was during her 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways. We got buddy passes from her dear sister, Jenny, and flew in the rain to get to the show. Getting there early we decided to go and have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Universal Studios. (still raining) We enjoyed a yummy Peppermintini with a peppermint stick and all, and of course a salad. While we were sitting there my phone rang and it was the Ellen Show... oh, no, was the show cancelled?? Reluctantly I picked up the phone.... I was then informed that I had also won a $100 AMEX Gift Card from a previous show. I had signed up for it on line!!! What a wonderful surprise.

Once we got in line for the show we really started getting excited. Finally, after 2 hours we were let into the studio... we got put in the front row!! Fun times and lots of dancing later the show started. Kate Winslet was there... she is so down to earth and petite! After Ellen got done interviewing her, it was the Giveaway! We ended up with a flat screen tv, a blue ray dvd player, a blue ray dvd of Mama Mia, and a $300 gift card to IKEA!! There was also a Brit Spear perfume and a CD of the singer that was there. We had a blast. On Tuesday when the show aired they had Christi and I on 4 times!! You could see us jumping up and down like crazy people when she brought the gifts out. It was so fun. It has only taken me 4 years to get on the 12 days of Giveaways show, so it was surreal.



The truly funny part was when we had rented a PT Cruiser at the Burbank airport...well, they actually give you all of the prizes right there and then. We had that car loaded and looked at each other like.."What the heck are we going to do now?" We couldn't fly with all of these things...yikes. Well, we finally decided to just rent the car to Phoenix Airport. Yes, we drove home all night! We opened Dunkin Donuts in Gilbert at 4am!!! It was so worth it.

Everyone keeps asking me how I got the tickets... well there is no trick, I just got lucky and happened to request tickets at the right time. My advice.. just keep trying.

Thanks Ellen!!!

Fall is Here!!

Happy Monday!! Yes, Fall is here for the rest of the country, not so much here. It was 101 yesterday. At least the nights are getting colder. The pool has definitely cooled down enough for me not to get it in any more. The kids are still jumping right in...when the water gets under 85 forget it for me. Yes, I am the big wimp.

Goldie has gone under the knife today... the spaying has commenced. I felt like I was betraying her today, I know she is just a dog, but she had such a sad face when I left her. Oh, well, I'll get over it.

Christian had his fifth flag football game this weekend. They are still undefeated. He scored his first touchdown, he was so excited. I think tackle is in his future, as long as he plays defense I will be okay with it. I can't believe I am actually watching football now. We are planning on going to the UofA/ASU game in December. Thankfully it is in Tucson so we don't have to worry about all those lunatic ASU fans beating us up for wearing our Uof A garb. They are much more civilized down in Tucson!! We are actually going to tailgate with some of our ASU friends so it will be fun. Anything is fun with Corona!!

Myka is starting softball this week. She is very excited. I will keep you posted on her progress. She is not on a competitive league yet, so there is no way to know if she is winning or not.(Like we don't keep score!) Stay tuned for updates.

Hope you all have a wonderful week... I will get better at this blog thing.
Alex

TGI Thursday

These berries are my absolute favorite thing in summer

Well, it is finally Thursday!! Survived another week of karate, football, chess club, dogs barking, and thunder storms. It is always nice to get a nice desert storm since we hardly ever see them. I watched a great movie yesterday "The Bucket List" and heard an amazing line... The Ancient Egyptians thought that when they died and met the gods they were to answer two guestions in order to pass through heaven. Those guestions were : 1. Have you ever truly had joy in your life? 2. Have you ever brought joy to someone else in your life? Very deep. Makes you look at your own life. If you do anything this fall, read a book called "The Shack". It will really make you think about life, your life, differently. I don't have the authors name in front of me.. you won't find it hard to locate, it has been on the top ten list for weeks.

The elections are fast approaching... please, whatever your political background, get out and vote. I can't stand debating with a person over politics who didn't even have the time to vote. Yes, for those of you who really know me... I tend to debate anyways, especially after a few Coronas. Seriously, we are talking very little effort to make your opinion matter. VOTE! As my husband always says to me, "be a part of the solution, not the problem". This is usually said to me in a very lovingly manor when I freak out just about anything. Got to love his coaching:)

Have a wonderful weekend...

God Bless,

Alex

Goldie's Graduation

Wow, Goldie Graduated, and I use that term loosely, from Puppy Class on 9/8! She even won a "major award".... "Most likely to work for food!" We are so proud of our little cattle dog.

Christi and Me

Brad Paisley (yes he is little!)

Amy, Adam Gregory, Christi and Me
Christi, Sue, Jen, Leslie, and Me at Bon Jovi.
No need to name....
Lance Miller
One Flew South

This is my friend Christi...she is one of those people who win everything!! We have met Brad Paisley, been on stage with Bon Jovi, and the latest is having lunch with an up and coming new country artist Adam Gregory. We also met One Flew South, and Lance Miller. Lance Miller won season 2 of Nashville Star.(like American Idol only country) Wish she would win some $$!

LOL

Alex

One More Day In Paradise...

Natural Bridge, Payson AZ

Well, here I go.... Christi you will be proud of me, I am finally blogging! I feel so hip and young now. I want to say thank you to my dear friend, and partner in crime, Christi for making this blog possible. It helps to keep those young friends around!!

Summer is coming to an end, in theory that is. (Still 104 today) The kids have started school. Christian in 4th grade and Myka in 3rd. We have started a new school this year, and with much angst the first week, the kids are settled in nicely. Christian is a second degree brown belt in karate, two more tests and he is a junior black belt. Watch out! Myka is one test away from brown belt and Jeff is also a brown belt...you can say that "Every body is kung fu fighting" in our house.

Christian is also playing flag football this season, they have won their first game. Woot! Woo! Myka will be starting softball the end of this month. She is a hitting machine, now if we can just get her to stop catching like a girl!

We had an addition to our family earlier this summer. In May we adopted our little puppy "Goldie". No she is not a Golden, she is a mut. She is half Queensland Heeler and half Border Collie, yes she is a cattle dog. Guess we thought we might need one of those someday?? She has since turned white except for her ears, they are still gold. She has been quite the handful. Daisy our German Shepherd tolerates her to say the least. I don't think I have slept a whole night through since May!!

For those of you who know my parents, they have moved back to Arizona. They couldn't stand the winters there in Upstate New York any longer. Good for us, yah... free babysitting for me. They are living with my brother, Peter, in Tucson right now until Jeff and I can find them a home up here in the Phoenix area. It is nice to have them around.

I will try and make it a habit to blog more often. I know you are all dying to know what is going on in my life.... Yes... I am going to be 40 this year, so you can keep all your comments to yourselves!!! Thank you very much.

I love you all and hope you are doing well.

God Bless,

Alex